USA men beat Brazil 80-69 at the Phone Booth last night - although Brazil led for most of the first half till they started coughing the ball up (23 total turnovers); could have pulled off the upset if they'd protected the ball better.

USA women on stronger form with 99-67 win (classy of Lindsay Whalen to dribble the clock out rather than try to break 100)...but for the men, London may not be quite the waltz some thought it might be (better than the 1992 Dream Team?)....

In "Teds Take" dated today, there is an article where Ted Leonsis was interviewed for 45 minutes by Wise and had some interesting comments about the Wizards - especially about the future addition of some more coaches and player developement personnel. Also, maybe a few more players. If you are a Wizards basketball fan, it is a good read with alot of info.

The ting with Blatche is that the dude can play when he's motivated. To be fair to him, he's always had trash coaches coaching him here in DC. I think he'd do fine in a place like Miami where LeBron, Wade, and Bosh can keep him in line.

Just received the announcement - Wizards are going to a digital ticket card system similar (I think) to what the Nats will be rolling out next season (plenty of practice for next Nats season, if nothing else): http://www.nba.com/wizards/season-ticket-card-guide

Nobody in DC cares about the Wizards. It's pretty sad. Teams have built and rebuilt many times over while the Wizards have floundered for 30+ years. I guess part of it is all the losing and the other part is that the NBA seems content with the extreme lack of parity with only LA, Chicago, Miami, etc. being good every year and most teams having little to no shot.

Still, with no hockey, you'd think the Wizards would at least garner some attention with the season opener tonight.

Nobody in DC cares about the Wizards. It's pretty sad. Teams have built and rebuilt many times over while the Wizards have floundered for 30+ years. I guess part of it is all the losing and the other part is that the NBA seems content with the extreme lack of parity with only LA, Chicago, Miami, etc. being good every year and most teams having little to no shot.

Still, with no hockey, you'd think the Wizards would at least garner some attention with the season opener tonight.

The Bullets/Wiz have had poor GM's for years. I think that's the problem. Of course, the owners hire these guys and over the last 30 years that was primarily Pollin. I hope Leonsis gets it right when he gives Grunfeld the boot.

The NBA is a tv show- the 8 or so teams they show are entertaining and have good story lines. Occasionally they trot out the washington generals (be they the wizards or kings) onto tv to play the stooge, but in general, the nba is good about limiting exposure to entertaining teams. The only way for an out team to get relevant is to luck into a great draft pick, and I trust Ernie to find a way to even blow that. On the plus size, Wall was enough of a disappointment that we won't have to deal with a season of articles about where he's demanding to be traded

The Bullets/Wiz have had poor GM's for years. I think that's the problem. Of course, the owners hire these guys and over the last 30 years that was primarily Pollin. I hope Leonsis gets it right when he gives Grunfeld the boot.

[emphasis added]

Not going to happen anytime soon - Leonsis re-signed him this past April.

(The match is on for tonight, by the way - the Wizards flew up to Cleveland early Monday morning, just ahead of the storm.)